HILLARY CLINTON should take advantage of this week's visit to Mexico to openly question the Mexican government's failing human rights record. President Felipe Calderón has centered his anti-drug strategy almost exclusively on the use of the military. If the United States wants to support a lasting peace south of the border, it should complement its military support with demands to respect basic civil liberties.
Since taking power, Calderón has engineered armed crackdowns in 10 states and set up military checkpoints throughout the country. He has sent 40,000 troops to patrol urban centers, with almost 10,000 posted in the border city of Ciudad Juárez. Two of the highest federal police commanders are now military officers, and a dozen prosecutors and police chiefs in Mexico's states are also members of the armed forces.
Since taking power, Calderón has engineered armed crackdowns in 10 states and set up military checkpoints throughout the country. He has sent 40,000 troops to patrol urban centers, with almost 10,000 posted in the border city of Ciudad Juárez. Two of the highest federal police commanders are now military officers, and a dozen prosecutors and police chiefs in Mexico's states are also members of the armed forces.
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Clinton's visit to Mexico this week provides an important opportunity to demonstrate the US government's commitment to the rule of law. The "war" on drugs does not justify the wholesale suspension of civil liberties any more than the "war" on terror does.
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